Ordinary and Extraordinary
by JeanTheQueen
Summary: My name is Alex Ryker. I am fourteen years old. I'm really smart, but I'm fairly normal. That is, I was. Until a certain person dropped out of the sky and into my life.
1. Prologue: School Day

**My second ever fan fic! Yay me! Please review, I don't mind flames. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, any of the characters, or the idea. All copyright stuff is James Patersons.**

**Oh, and BTW, this takes place sometime between the second and third books.**

Looking back on that day, the day it all really began, I can tell you firmly and sincerely that I have only one regret. And it's not the one you might think. I didn't mind the terror, the confusion, the shock, the danger… none of that. No, what I really regret is that it had to happen on a school day.

**I know, real boring. The rest is better.**


	2. Ordinary to Extraordinary in 03 Seconds

**It gets more interesting now. = )**

I was not in a good mood that morning. My little brother, Max the Trickster, had sneaked into my room in the middle of the night and reset my alarm clock. I woke up about an hour later than I should have. I also woke up screaming, dreaming that I was being abducted by aliens.

I raced into the kitchen where Max and Mollie were eating breakfast. Mom was leaning against the counter, a steaming cup in coffee in her hands. They all looked up as I came swerving around the corner, my shirt inside out, a dirty sock on my head. I gave Max my very best death glare.

"I hope you've enjoyed your life, because you are totally _dead_." I growled. Max grinned.

"Better get dressed first. You're shirt's inside out." he said. I suppressed a shriek of rage and stomped off to my room to get dressed.

As I said, it was a school day, a Monday, to be exact. I hate Mondays.

The others left before me. Mom drove Mollie to the high school, and Max to the middle.

There are a few things you should know about me, and my family in general. First of all, we're all really smart. I'm fourteen, Max is eleven, and Mollie is seven, but none of us are in the grades we should be in. Max and I both skipped fifth grade. So even though I'm fourteen, I'm a sophomore in high school. Max is in seventh grade, and Mollie… well, Mollie is even more special.

She's seven, and she's in ninth grade. Talk about a child genius. Mom wanted to home school her, but it didn't work out. Mom is the only one with a job, and actually, Mollie wanted to attend a public school. Why, though, I don't know. I've seen her in some of her classes. She doesn't fit in well.

Max is our family troublemaker. His favorite pastime is pulling pranks on the rest of us. His full name is Maxwell Percival Ryker. Mollie is Mollie Jeanette LeAnne Ryker. My name is Alexandria Emily Ryker.

You might say that I am the opposite of Max. I always get straight As, always on time, never skip class, do whatever I'm told. Of course, I also get picked on a lot. After Mollie, I'm the smartest one in my family. But aside from the smart stuff, my family is actually pretty typical, and pretty boring. Which is why I was so surprised by what went down that day.

I locked the door and turned to leave for school. I was raining heavily, but Max and Mollie had taken all the umbrellas. Just as I stepped onto the wet sidewalk, something huge crashed into me, knocking me down. For a second, I couldn't see, or think, even, as my head snapped back and cracked against the concrete.

It took a few seconds for my head to clear. Once it did, I managed to shove the huge load off me. I sat up, and realized I was covered in something dark and sticky. I knew blood when I saw it, even if I had never seen it in such large amounts before.

My brain jumped out of it's momentary paralysis and into super speed mode. I played back the scene in my head, and I realized something that almost made my heart stop.

Whatever this thing was that had fallen into me, had actually fallen _on top_ of me.

It had fallen from the sky.

**_PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE_ REVIEW!!!!**


	3. ABsolutely, WITHout a doubt, NO WAY!

**Yay, chapter 2! Please review!**

There was so much to think about! My poor brain was speeding along in hyper drive, trying to process everything.

First of all, I determined that the blood was not mine, which was a good thing. Although the back of my head still hurt, and I knew I'd have a gigantic-mungo bruise there be there by tomorrow. I wasn't hurt at all except for my head. Next, I turned my attention the falling missile almost caused me to have a concussion.

There was a boy sprawled on the lawn beside me. One arm was trapped underneath his back, and the other was flung out to the side. His head was bent at an awkward angle, but I could tell it wasn't broken. Sprained, maybe. He had long dark hair, surprisingly long for a boy. His skin had a dark, olive sort of color, but I could tell that underneath it, he was really pale. Maybe just from lack of blood. He was wearing all black; black jeans, black t-shirt, even black sneakers. And he was covered in blood.

But none of this was what held my attention, made me stare. No, what I could not stop gawking at was his wings. Yes, wings.

They were black, too. The feathers were sticky and matted together with blood. They were almost fully extended, and I guessed they were around fourteen feet across, maybe more.

The boy groaned suddenly. I jumped slightly, then looked around furtively. The street looked the same as it had just a few seconds ago. Just as rainy, just as normal. The boy groaned again, and my head jerked back towards him. What to do, what to do..

My mind was made up for me by the appearance of my friend, Gracie Adamson. We usually walk to school together in the mornings. She comes by my house and gets me, and we walk the rest of the way together. We've done this since third grade. Well, I was in third grade, she was in fourth.

Today, though, I really wished she wasn't here.

Gracie took in the scene with a shocked expression. Then she ran over to me. Gracie loves to talk, about anything. So right away, she was gushing and gasping, and I could hardly tell what she was saying.

"Omigosh! Is that _blood_?! What happened? Who is _he_?! Is he dead?! Are those _wings_?! What's going on? Are you alright? Do you need help? Do you want me to call an ambulance?!" Her cell phone was already in her hand.

"NO!" I shrieked. Gracie blinked. I glowered at her.

"I'm fine, Gracie. I don't know who he is, and yes, those are wings. I just know he's hurt, and as far as I can tell, he's alive. But do _not_ call an ambulance!" I said. Gracie slowly put her phone away.

I rolled onto my knees and bent over the unconcious boy. I pressed two fingers against the inside of his wrist. And there it was; a pulse. I sighed.

"Let's get him inside." I said.


	4. Late for School

**Thank you to the one person who reviewed. Anyways, here's the next chapter.**

I grabbed his shoulders, Gracie grabbed his feet. We carried him inside and put him on the couch. At that point, I needed to find the place where all the blood was coming from.

His head seemed to be okay. No bloody wounds, at any rate. His wings were okay too. Finally, I made Gracie help me sit him up. And there it was: It looked like someone had slashed him with a knife four or five times on his lower back. Except… they looked more like claw marks than knife wounds. Gracie covered her mouth with her hand.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." she whispered. I gave her a stern look.

"My couch is already bloody. You are not allowed to vomit in my living room, because I will have to clean it up. Go vomit out in the rain." I said. Gracie left the room.

I have a pretty strong stomach, but I'll admit, I was getting a little green. _Pull it together Alex_, I told myself. I went to the upstairs bathroom to find something I could use as a bandage.

I found absolutely nothing. I had Gracie help me move him into the bathtub so I could pour some antiseptic stuff onto the wounds. He'd lost a lot of blood, which scared me. Gracie couldn't be in the room while I was cleaning the wounds. I used some clean sheets to bandage it up, since I didn't have anything else. Mom is going to kill me.

Finally, I decided to clean the blood off. I couldn't let him leave a bloody trail all around my house. For lack of other options, I just left him in the tub, and turned on the shower.

The water was fairly warm, but it woke him up. I groaned in my head. I hadn't been counting on that. Although, maybe he can walk around on his own two feet now.

He jumped slightly, the moaned. His hand went to his back, touching the gashes. Or rather, touching the sheets. His eyes darted around with the look of a trapped animal, finally landing on me. Just then, Gracie walked in.

"Hey Alex, I found this backpack outside. Do you think it's his? It's got some clothes and food in it." she said. I gestured at her to be quiet. She came up next to me and looked down at the boy.

"Hey, you're awake!" she cried, making him wince. I elbowed her. He still didn't say anything.

"Why's the shower on?" Gracie whispered to me.

"I was trying to get all the blood off. Didn't work. But he woke up, which wasn't really what I wanted to happen." I muttered. She smiled.

"School's starting soon. We're gonna be late." she said, forgetting to whisper and using normal volume. The boy reacted pretty strongly to that. I'm not sure why, but he suddenly backed up against the far wall, gasping in pain and glaring at us. We exchanged mystified glances. I reached over and shut the water off. Then we all just stood there in silence for a while.

"What's your name?" I finally said. He just stared at me like I was crazy. I sighed.

"I'm Gracie." Gracie said, pointing to herself. "This is Alex." She pointed to me.

"Who are you?" She continued, speaking to him as if he was mentally retarded. I put my hand over my mouth to hide my smile. His expression told me he was wondering if Gracie was mentally retarded.

"Fang." he muttered. And he wouldn't say another word.

**Please review! Flames welcome. (well, not welcomed, but OK, anyway)**


	5. Cleaning

**I have now gotten a total of two reviews, both of them positive. So.. here's the next chapter. I sort of wrote it in a hurry, next chapter will be better. Please review!**

In the end, we got him to shower and get the blood off. He was still really weak, probably from all the lost blood, so it was slow going. Meanwhile, Gracie and I cleaned.

Gracie had had the foresight to put a sheet down on the couch to keep the blood from getting on the pillows. Fortunately, it had worked. So I took the bloody sheet down to the basement. I washed out the blood in the huge sink-like thing we have down there, then took it into the backyard. I hung it up on one of the laundry lines. It was still raining pretty heavy, so I figured there would be zero blood on it when mom got home.

Next: mopping.. Gracie and I got out the buckets and mops and washed the floors. We got all the way to the bathroom door, and stopped. We looked at each other. Just then, the door opened.

The boy- I still don't know if name is really Fang, although it probably isn't- was leaning against the wall for support. He glared at us as he scooted down along the hallway. He sat down in the corner. I looked at Gracie for help. She just shrugged. I shoved my mop at her then went over to the boy.

"Um… what now?" I asked uncertainly.

"Who are you?" he surprised me by asking.

"Alex." I said. He watched me for a second. I looked over my shoulder for Gracie, but she was mopping out the blood in the bathroom.

"Can you walk?" I asked. He considered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Do you have somewhere you can stay?" I asked. he almost smiled, then shook his head again. I considered briefly.

"Do you want to stay here?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Do I have a choice?" He sounded totally impassive, but his eyes tightened, just for a second. He didn't want to stay here.

"Can you actually fly?" Gracie had appeared on my other side. He nodded once.

"How did you get… hurt?" I asked. He said nothing. I sighed.

"Fine. You can stay in the attic." I said. And then I sighed, because I knew there was no way he was getting up three flights of stairs all by himself.


	6. Help Needed

**Hey, four reviews! I'm on a roll! In answer to your question, SplatteredEggs, yes, the rest of the flock are going to come in, but not for a while yet. Thanks so much for reviewing!**

Our attic is kind of weird. It's divided into three rooms, and when we were little, Max, Mollie and I used to live up there. Then we grew, and the ceilings were too short. If they had been too short when I was eight, I knew they would be way to short for Fang, since he's almost a foot taller than me.

I yanked off the plastic tarp on top of my old bed. Then coughed as dust clogged the air. My old bedspread was in a plastic box. I spread a navy blue sheet on the bed and then a matching blanket. Everything else in the room was packaged in boxes or covered in plastic tarps. The walls were covered in a thick layer of dust.

I crossed to a box labeled "Kids Pictures" and pulled off the lid. Inside, there were pictures of me, Max and Mollie when we lived in these rooms. Most of them were pictures of me, though. I picked up a school picture of Max.

"Aw, is that Max?" Gracie asked over my shoulder. I looked up at her, and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang (that name still cracks me up), stiffen.

"Yup." I said. "Fourth grade."

"He was so cute!" Gracie gushed. I laughed. And then a terrible thought occurred to me. I whirled around and faced Gracie.

"We skipped school!" I gasped. She stared at my expression for a second, then cracked up. She was literally on the floor laughing. I looked up at Fang. He was sort of almost smiling. I looked back at Gracie.

"What?" I said defensively. She shook her head, gasping.

"It's just… you. Skipping school. Your expression." She gasped out. I glowered.

"Mom's going to kill me." I said wonderingly.

I crossed the room and stood in front of Fang, arms crossed over my chest.

"How long are you planning on staying here?" I asked. He just shrugged. I was stating to get the idea that he didn't talk a lot.

"Are you going to tell me how you got hurt, or how you got _wings_?" I asked, slightly impatient. Fang shook his head. I sighed impatiently.

"Fine. I'll bring you some food later." I said and turned and left the attic. After a second, Gracie followed me. Once we got to the bottom of the stairs, Gracie giggled.

"He's hot. Even when he's a bloody mess." she whispered. I smacked the back of her head. She just smiled.

"Do you think I should tell my mom about Fang?" I asked as we headed towards the living room. She deliberated for a second.

"No. First of all, because you don't know hardly anything about him, and second, because he could be dangerous. Also, secrets are so much more fun!" Gracie said. I rolled my eyes at that last part, but she did have a point.

"Okay. So telling mom is out." I looked Gracie in the eyes.

"I need your help."

**How's that for a cliffhanger? Next chapter will be from Fang's POV, so be prepared. Please review!**


	7. So Far

**Hey everyone. This chapters kind of long. Sorry. Anyways, please review. I really want to know what you think. So far I've gotten all positive review, but since I've only gotten four total, that's not saying much. Thanks for reading this!**

Fang's POV

_Two Hours Ago_

"You okay?" I asked. Ever since we'd busted out of the creepy Itex facility in Florida, Max had been acting weird. Well, I guess I would to, if I'd had to fight my clone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a headache." She muttered. Uh-oh.

We were flying over Ohio, and above us, the clouds were threatening rain. We were flying fairly low, so that we could land quickly if it started to rain. 'Cause let me tell you, it's no fun flying with wet wings.

"Max?" Nudge asked, coasting on Max's other side. "Are we gonna land soon? I think I just felt a raindrop." she said. Max nodded.

"Yeah, keep your eyes open for somewhere to land." she called to the rest of us.

I was so busy scanning the ground that I forgot to watch the air. I heard Gazzy shout, "Heads up!" and whirled around. There was a huge cloud of erasers flying towards us. They were very close, and I figured they would be on us in a minute. This model was hardly clumsy at all. In fact, they were- I hate to say it- pretty good fliers.

I heard Max shout, "Battle up, guys!" and then they were on us.

I must say, they were very good fighters. In the time it took for Max and me to take out two of them, Gazzy had a bloody lip, Nudge had a black eye, and Angel was being choked by one of them. I saw Max drop down behind the eraser throttling Angel and pull his wings together in back of him, hard. I swerved to the side, trying to get to Nudge, but I never made it.

Something sliced through my jacket, across my back, narrowly missing my wings. I screamed in pain, doubling over. I forgot to flap for a second, and dropped like a rock for about fifty feet before I could move my wings again.

By that time, it was to late. I was falling, and there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't really thinking clearly. I felt sorry for whichever poor person would find my body. As I went unconscious, I thought I heard someone scream my name.

_Half an Hour Ago_

Rain hit my face. I blinked, opening my eyes.

The first thing I was aware of was the pain in my lower back. It felt like my skin was on fire. I touched the cuts, and found that someone had tried to bandage them. The second thing I noticed was that I was in a bathtub. What I had thought was rain was actually a shower. I spluttered a little, trying to get my bearings.

I looked around, taking in the white wallpaper, bright white tiles on the floor, the mirror, sink, and toilette. I was in someone's bathroom.

Finally, my eyes landed on the girl who was watching me. She had black hair that just barely brushed her shoulders and dark black eyes. She was wearing jeans and a Beatles t-shirt, and watching me with a wary expression.

As soon as I noticed her, another girl walked in.

The two could not have looked more different. This girl had white-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and pale skin. Her eyes were bright blue, and she was wearing _really_ short shorts and a tank top. She was already talking before she was in the door.

"Hey Alex, I found this backpack outside. Do you think it's his? It's got some clothes and food in it." she said. I glanced at the backpack in question. It was mine. I assumed I had fallen off as I fell.

"Hey, you're awake!" the blonde cried suddenly. The words reverberated around my head, making me wince involuntarily. The dark haired girl elbowed the blonde slightly.

"Why's the shower on?" the blonde whispered.

"I was trying to get all the blood off. Didn't work. But he woke up, which wasn't really what I wanted to happen." The dark haired one murmured. The blonde grinned, then glanced at me.

"School's starting soon. We're gonna be late." the blonde said, using her normal volume. _School?!_

I backed away from the two girls. Could they possibly be working with the whitecoats and the erasers? They both turned to look at me with puzzled expressions.

"Who are you?" The dark haired girl asked. I said nothing.

"I'm Gracie." The blonde said. "And this is Alex." she pointed to the other girl. I still said nothing. Speaking as though I were a two-year-old, she asked, "Who are you?"

I considered for a moment. I decided I could tell them my name.

"Fang." I muttered. Then I sealed my mouth- permanently.

_Fifteen Minutes Ago_

They made me take a shower. When I was done, I put on fresh clothes from my backpack. When I got out of the bathroom, they were both mopping. I realized I must have left quite a bit of blood in the house. I limped over to the corner of the hallway and sat down. Just that short walk had seriously winded me. I'm not going to be going anywhere fast for a while.

The Beatles fan- Alex- came over to me.

"What now?" she asked. I considered that for a moment.

"Who are you?" I asked. What I really meant was; Who are you working for? She looked surprised to hear me speak.

"Alex." she said. I already knew that. She looked over her shoulder uncertainly, then turned back to me.

"Can you walk?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Do you want to stay here?" she asked uncertainly. Nope. I shook my head again.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked. I tried to keep my voice from showing emotion, but a picture of the flock as I had last seen them flashed through my head.

The blonde girl, Gracie, came up behind Alex, who didn't seem to notice.

"Can you actually fly?" she asked me eagerly. I nodded, and her eyes widened. Alex seemed a little freaked, but was trying not to show it.

"How did you get… hurt?" she asked. Sorry, that's private. I said nothing.

"Fine. You can stay in the attic." Alex said. Then she sighed. She knew she'd have to help me up the stairs.

_Five Minutes Ago_

They had a huge attic. It was divided up into three smaller rooms, each with a bed. Alex yanked a plastic cover off one of them and I sat down carefully. Alex crossed the room and knelt down next to a box of pictures. I saw her lift a few out. Gracie went over to her and peered over her shoulder.

"Aw, is that Max?" she asked. Alex nodded.

Max? Again, the image of the flock as I had left them passed through my mind.

"Yup. Fourth grade." Alex said.

"He was so cute!" Gracie said, smiling. Alex chuckled. Then, all of a sudden, she whirled around. Her expression almost scared the living daylight out of me. It was so tragic, so horrified, I was almost sure she'd seen a ghost. Or an eraser, at the very least.

"We skipped school!" she whispered. Gracie stared at her for a second, the burst out laughing. I was so relieved. School! That was it? I couldn't help smiling a little.

"What?" Alex asked defensively.

"It's just… you. Skipping school. Your expression." Gracie said breathlessly.

"Mom's going to kill me." Alex whispered with a horrorstruck expression.

Suddenly she came over to me and asked, "How long are you planning on staying here?" How should I know? I shrugged.

"Are you going to tell me how you got hurt, or how you got _wings_?" she continued, exasperated. Definitely not. I shook my head.

"Fine. I'll bring you some food later." she said, and stomped out. Still chuckling, Gracie followed. When they thought they were out of earshot, I heard Gracie say, "He's hot." There was a muffled noise, then, as their voices faded, I heard her say, "Ow!"

I had to get back to the flock.


	8. Picture Day

**Sorry that it's been a while since I've updated. I've had a lot to do, schoolwise. Ayways, here's chpater seven. I realize that a lot of the last chapter was sort of redundant, so sorry about that. Thanks to SplatteredEggs for reviewing. Alex and Gracie are still in the story, although Gracie is going to play more of a minor character. Please review!**

When mom got home, I had a fever. There was a bucket next to the couch, where I was wrapped up in about ten blankets. I was sweating profusely, tossing and turning. As soon as she saw me, all her anger disappeared. Excellent.

"Alex!" she cried, dropping down next to me. I pretended not to see or hear her. Gracie was standing next to me, looking anxious and fluttering around. She was talking really fast, trying to seem upset. She was actually doing a good job.

"Ms. Ryker! I came to get Alex to walk to school and she was all sweaty and stuff, and then she vomited! So I brought her back here and she said she was cold and stuff, so I gave her blankets and she fell asleep, and I don't know what to do!" Gracie wailed. We had practiced this speech a dozen times already.

In reality, I had just run around the house a few times to achieve the fever. I hadn't actually vomited, and I felt fine. Well, I was a little hot, considering I was wrapped up like a burrito in all those blankets. We had decided that I was the one who should fake sick, because I was terrible lair. Gracie was always talking really fast anyways, so it wouldn't be to hard for her to act nervous. My "fever" would fade, and I would be completely better by tomorrow. Simple.

"Mom?" I groaned, opening my eyes.

"Hey, sweetie. How are you?" mom asked in a whisper. I could see Max and Mollie over her shoulder. _They_ both knew I was faking. Max grinned at me and gave me a double thumbs up. Mollie looked reproving.

"I'm cold." I whispered. Mom put her hand on my forehead.

"You're burning up!" she cried. I closed my eyes again. I could hear mom fluttering around in the background. She and Gracie were discussing options. I almost smiled.

"You're doing great. Keep it up." I heard Max whisper in my ear. Actually, I learned how to do this from Max.

"I never would have thought you would do this! You skipped school!" Mollie hissed.

"I'm _sick_, Mollie." I said pitifully.

"No, you're not." she snapped. I said nothing. Max chuckled.

"Alex, can you walk?" mom asked softly. I nodded without opening my eyes.

"Okay then. We're gonna move you to your room." she whispered. I nodded again.

She and Gracie supported me all the way up the stairs. I lay down in my bed with a bunch of covers on me. As soon as mom left the room to call Gracie's parents, I jumped up and started running around my room. Gracie relaxed into my swivel chair, grinning.

"That was almost fun!" she whispered. I grinned.

"Thanks." I whispered back. Then mom came back, and I had to lay down again.

Mom didn't want to give me food, because I had a "tender stomach". So I had to wait until they were all asleep before I could go get some food for Fang. And me, since I was pretty hungry by that point.

I raided our fridge for something that wasn't to messy. I finally selected a yogurt container, some cheese and crackers, some dry cereal, and some fruit. I took it all up to the attic. I ate a little bit of it on my way up. I was planning on giving the rest to Fang right then, but he was sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up, so I just left the food on the little nightstand by the bed. I grabbed another cracker, then headed back downstairs.

I crawled back into bed, thinking. How long would it take Fang to recover? Had I even stopped the bleeding with the sheets? And how long does it take for a person to recover from losing that much blood in the first place? And would it take Fang the normal amount of time to recover anyways? Since so little about him was "normal" in the first place. I mean, he had _wings_.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up to the steady beeping of my alarm clock. I looked out the window. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle. I got up and showered and dressed quickly. Everyone looked up as I came into the kitchen. Mom smiled

"Feeling better?" she asked. I nodded.

"Perfect." I said truthfully.

"Good." mom said. Then she appraised my outfit.

"Are you really wearing that for picture day?" she asked.

"What?" I shrieked. I looked over at Max and Mollie. They both looked all dressed up and cute. Max looked uncomfortable. Mollie smiled at me.

"Maybe I don't feel so good." I muttered. Mom laughed.

**What do you think? Please review! Brutal honesty requested.**


	9. Emily

**Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. My sis was hogging the computer, playing video games and doing "schoolwork". I finally got a chance to get on and update. **

**I've gotten like six reviews! Yay me! Of course, one person reviewed twice. Does that still count? **

**Anyways, here's chapter 8. two new minor characters. Please continue to review!!**

Picture day. The worst day of the year. The day when all the idiotic beauty queens in school got dressed up and paraded around for the rest of us losers to see. I don't know how it works in other schools, but here, picture day is a popularity contest.

All the way there, I was dreading the coming day. Gracie chattered on about some boy she liked, while I trudged on miserably, trying (and failing) not to think about the day ahead. Gracie was dressed up a little bit. But then, Gracie is pretty in almost anything. Unlike me. Who looks totally dorky and uncool in everything.

"Alex, what's wrong? You're all depressed. I don't think you even heard a word I said!" Gracie asked suddenly, pulling me out of my reverie.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Picture day, you know." I said. Gracie smiled sympathetically.

"Hey, I'm sure nothing will happen. I mean, Cheri won't bother you ." Gracie assured me. I shook my head in disbelief.

I suppose I should explain who Cheri is. First of all, the fact that her parents named her after an alcoholic beverage should tell you something about her personality. Cheri is the most annoying girl in school, and also the most popular. She's a junior, and since I'm a freshman, I don't have any classes with her. Cheri has long red hair, and wears _waaay_ to much makeup. She's filthy rich, so she thinks she's better than everybody else.

On my very first day at Heights High, she picked a fight with some freshman girl was looked like she was about to cry. I stood up for the girl, and made Cheri look as stupid as she is in front of the whole school (since she conveniently picked that fight in the auditorium). Since then, Cheri has tried to humiliate me and torture me at every possible instance. And on picture day, she gets an especially big head.

As I walked into school, Emily came rushing up to Gracie and I. Remember when I mentioned a girl Cheri picked a fight with on my first day? The girl I stood up for, the reason Cheri hates me? Meet Emily.

The thing about Emily is, she's tiny. She's about three foot ten, a good three feet shorter than me. Her pale face is tiny and sort of pinched looking. She has these little itty bitty glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her eyes are huge and bright, bright blue. She wears kids clothing, and if you put her in a medium sized t-shirt, she'd look like she was wearing a tent. But she's really smart, and a great person to have on your side when you want to get away with something. She can find loopholes in any rule.

But today, her short blonde hair was sticking up at odd angles, her glasses were clutched in her hand, and her backpack was falling off. She skidded up to me and Gracie, panting. Gracie and I looked at each other, trying not to laugh. Emily was wearing a pair of bright pink sweat pants, an olive green t-shirt, neon orange sneakers, and a black bracelet. Add in her protuberant blue eyes, and you have a completely ridiculous outfit.

"Did you know it's picture day?" Gracie asked mildly.

"What?" Emily said distractedly. Gracie giggled. I rolled my eyes.

"Is something wrong?" I asked Emily.

"Cheri chased me out of the bathroom." Emily muttered. I gritted my teeth.

"Alex, don't even think it." Gracie said sharply. I looked at her in surprise.

"Don't you dare go chasing after that psycho. You don't need to get involved. Not this time." Gracie said. I sighed.

"Yeah, it's okay, Alex." Emily smiled at me. "You don't need to go talk to Cheri about me." She put her glasses back on and blinked.

That did it.

"Which bathroom?" I asked casually.

"Second floor. You know, by Mr. Laranto's classroom." Emily said with a shrug. I turned and headed for the stairs. Behind me, Gracie groaned.

"Why'd you tell her?" she demanded.

**Kay, so please review. Next chapter is going to be interesting...**


	10. Cheri

**Kay so here's chapter nine. Please review!!! Brutal honesty requested. : )**

I stalked down the hallway. I could hear laughter long before I saw them. I rounded the corner and stepped into the bathroom.

Cheri and three other girls were all lounging around on the counter and leaning against the stalls. I recognized one of the girls; Amanda Grey, a junior. She used to go to my middle school. She was an eighth grader when I was a sixth grader, though, so I didn't know her very well. I only knew her name because she was called down to the office so much over the PA.

All four girls were looking through a notebook, laughing maliciously. I recognized Emily's messy scrawl on the pages. They'd stolen her notebook! I saw red. Literally, because at that moment, MS. High-and-Mighty noticed me.

"Oh, look who it is." Cheri said scornfully. I glared.

"Give me that." I said, holding out my hand for the notebook. Cheri rolled her eyes.

"Please, Alex. It's not yours." she said.

"It's not yours, either." I snapped.

"Finders keepers." she snarled.

"Looser weepers." I agreed, snatching the book out of her hands.

"Hey!" she cried, jumping to her feet.

I backed out of the bathroom as quickly as I could, but Cheri grabbed my arm, and Amanda and one of the other girls stepped in front of me, blocking my exit. The other girl came up behind Cheri.

"Give it back." Cheri's face was almost as red as her hair.

"I don't think so." I said, just as angry. Cheri reached for the notebook. I smacked her hand away, and she gasped in surprise and anger. Then she tried to punch me.

It was obvious that this was the first punch she'd ever thrown in her life. I saw it coming before she even knew she was trying to punch me. I don't have a whole lot of experience with fighting myself, but I've gotten into it occasionally with Max. I know how to punch, at least. So I was already ducking before her hand was even halfway towards me. Her fist crashed into the wall behind my head with a sickening crunch.

Cheri's scream of pain was so loud, I almost dropped the notebook to cover my ears. I tried to back away again, but Amanda and the other girl pressed forward, keeping me from leaving. I took a deep breath and pushed them away from me as hard as I could. I ducked under Amanda's outstretched arm and ran.

I ran out into the hallway. We were in a deserted section of the school. There are only two rooms nearby, and both of them had their doors shut, lights off. I turned and ran down the hallway to my left, heading for the stairs.

"Get her!" I heard Cheri scream.

I ran down the stairs, but I was still on flight up when I felt someone grab my backpack. Without thinking, I leaped over the railing. To my very great surprise, I landed on my feet, in a crouching position. I jerked back into an upright position and raced out the doors to the stairwell. There was quite a crowd now. I slipped in between two boys and ducked around someones huge backpack. I looked back.

Cheri and the other girls were beginning to weave through the crowd, coming after me. I scanned the people around me, looking for Gracie and Emily. I spotted them and quickly made my way over to them. I handed Emily her notebook without a word. She stared at me, eyes wide.

"What?" I said. She just smiled, and said nothing. Gracie shook her head.

The first period bell rang. I waved goodbye to Emily and Gracie and headed off to Honors Biology. I was careful to avoid walking to close to Cheri and her friends.

I slid into my seat next to Mollie. We have several classes together throughout the day. Unfortunately, I also have this class with Amanda.

Mollie looked at my flushed face, and frowned.

"What happened?" she asked. I told her in whisper as the other students began to file in. She shook her head several times, but didn't say a word. Finally, the bell rang.

"Settle down everyone." Ms. Christian called.

Halfway through first period, the phone rang. The teacher sighed and walked over to the phone. She picked up, listened for a second, and frowned.

"Alright, I'll send her right down." she murmured.

"Alex Ryker, you're needed in the main office." Ms. Christian said as she hung up.

"Me?" I asked in disbelief. Ms. Christian rolled her eyes.

"Is there another Alex Ryker in this class?" she asked. I got to my feet. As I was leaving the room, Amanda gave me a wicked grin.

This can't be good.

**Whaddya think?**


	11. Suspention

**I know it's been a while since I've updated. I got busy with other stuff. School, cello, media club... that sort of thing. Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

**Please review!**

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**Chapter 10; Suspension**

"Alex, I just can't believe it. Fighting! And then getting suspended! What were you thinking?" Mom shook her head sadly. I kept my mouth shut. I had given up on trying to explain after the first six or seven times mom cut me off.

Yes, I was suspended. Cheri was now back at school, telling anyone who would listen that some crazy freshman had broken her hand.

For the record, it was only her pointer finger that was broken. And I didn't break it. She was the one who'd punched the wall! But she'd gone directly to the principal and told him that I had started a fight with her in the bathroom, and that I had smashed her hand with a textbook. She had her broken finger to prove it; how could she be wrong?

By the way, that was a rhetorical question.

All through the meeting with my mom and the principal, I kept trying to explain what really happened. No one would listen. Mom or Mr. Green would just talk louder, over me. And then he suspended me. And mom believed some stuck-up, snotty b***h over me! The injustice of it still rankled.

When I got home, mom announced that she needed to get back to work. I didn't answer, just stomped up the steps to my room. I heard the door slam, and headed back down.

I went right to the fridge. I made three sandwiches and took them all up to the attic.

Fang was sitting up on the bed, arms folded, staring out the window. I sat down on the floor next to him and put the sandwich plate on a box next to the bed.

"Cheers." I said glumly. He looked down at me, totally impassive. As always.

"Oh, right. You don't talk. I forgot." I muttered.

"I talk." he said absently, grabbing a sandwich and leaning back. "Just not often." he grinned at me, and I blinked.

"So, why are you arguing with your mom?" he asked mildly. I flushed.

"You heard that?" I muttered. "I got suspended from school." I admitted. Fang looked amused.

"What'd you do?" he asked.

"Nothing." I grumbled I explained what had happened, and he regained his impassive expression. When I finished, I reached for the last sandwich, at the same time as Fang. I rolled my eyes and let him have it.

"You eat a lot." I commented.

"So do you." he said. I frowned.

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" I asked, pretending to be hurt. Fang grinned again.

"Nope. Anyways, I do eat a lot. We all do. Part of the genetic mutation thing." he said with a casual shrug.

"_We all do_?" I echoed. "There are _more_ of you?" Suddenly, his face shut down. I watched him for a minute, then sighed; I wasn't going to get anymore out of him today.

"All right." I mumbled. "I'll bring you up some dinner later." I left.

That night, lying in bed, I wondered about the words Fang had let slip. _We all do…_ So there were others like him? I wondered how they had gotten their wings. _Genetic hybrid…_ So someone had tampered with their genes?

Struck by a sudden idea, I jumped up and went to my desk. My laptop was still on, so I flipped the lid up and sat down. I went up to the Google search box and typed in genetic manipulation. Instantly, over a hundred results popped up.

I spent the next hour refining my search, until I had a pretty good idea of what had happened to Fang. Scientifically, at least. Then I started looking for other things- rumors, genetic experimentation labs, missing children, that sort of thing. There were quite a few conspiracy theorists out there, people speculating about the possibility of a government run laboratory where genetic experiments were performed.

However, I did find out a few things. There seemed to be several areas in the country that had very high kidnapping or disappearing children rates. Many of them involved babies vanishing from hospitals. I got out my box of jeweled tacks and started sticking them in the gigantic map of the United States on my wall. I was just about to stick one in some place called Death Valley, California, when someone screamed.

Someone in the attic.

My tack clattered to the floor as I ran out of my bedroom.


	12. Don't Tell!

**Hey everyone. I'm at 16 reviews so far, but that's still more than I expected to get! Also, I went back and looked through my email, and there were a bunch of reviews that I realized I never responded to, even though I meant to. *smacks head* so I'll try to be better about that from now on. Oh, and just a little spoiler: The erasers come in in the next chapter. ; )**

**Special thanks to SplatteredEggs for reviewing more than anyone else. Lots of virtual cookies and ice cream for you!**

**Anywho, here's chapter 11. PLEASE REVIEW!! Brutal honesty requested.**

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**Chapter 11; Don't Tell**

I ran up to the door to the attic, but just as I put my hand on the knob, it flew open.

Mollie crashed into me, panting and gasping. She let out a tiny shriek of terror when she bumped into me. I knelt down in front of her, grabbing her shoulders.

"Alex!" she cried. "There's someone in the attic! I heard something up there, so I went up to see, and there was this boy sitting up there!" she said in a rush. I took two seconds to judge the likelihood of Mollie keeping her mouth shut, which was _none_, and decided to spill.

"Mollie, I'll tell you everything, I promise. Just _don't tell mom_ what you saw! Please!" I said. Mollie's eyes widened.

"You mean…" she whispered. I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Mollie, _please_. Trust me." I pleaded quietly. Mollie looked at the stairs, then back at me. Her jaw set suddenly, and her eyes narrowed. I didn't know what she had decided, but there was no time to say anything else. I straightened up as Mom and Max rounded the corner.

"Mollie!" Mom cried, and then she saw us both standing there, and I could see her relax somewhat. She quickly crossed over to us, and bent down to look Mollie in the eye.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

"I thought I heard something in the attic." Mollie said in a little girl voice that I've never heard her use before. "I went upstairs, and I thought I saw someone, and I screamed. But then I realized it was just one of those coat-rack-thingies covered in a sheet." Mollie looked down at her feet with just the right amount of embarrassment. Mom laughed and hugged her.

"Okay, Mollie. I'm just so glad you weren't hurt!" Mom said. She pulled back from the hug, shaking her head.

"C'mon you all. Let's get you back to bed." Mom said, picking Mollie up in her arms.

I was the last to leave. Max caught my eye as he left, his expression curious. I shook my head at him slightly. As soon as he was gone, I carefully closed the door to the attic stairs.

I went back to my room, but I didn't go to sleep. Instead, I finished putting all the tacks onto my map. I was waiting for Mollie. Of course, Max had figured out that she was lying, so he would probably come too.

I didn't have to wait long. They both came in together, creeping quietly along, freezing in place when my door creaked as it opened. I turned to face them and found them both standing in front of my door, watching me with expectant expressions. I sighed.

"C'mon, you two. There's someone you need to meet." I said.

I led them up to the attic. When we reached the door, I glanced back. Mollie was radiating excitement. She was no longer scared- she was fascinated. Max looked uncertain, and more than a little confused.

"Okay. Before we go up, there's something you need to do." They both nodded enthusiastically.

"You have to swear, _on your life_, that you won't tell _anyone_ about what I am about to show you. _Ever_. Got it?" I asked, watching them carefully. Max had a mischievous light in his eyes, but Mollie looked solemn.

"I promise." they both said in unison. Then they crossed their hearts and did a weird motion with their arms. It was the secret handshake we had invented when we were younger. It was a combination of all the French accents, only using our arms and hands to draw them. Each accent had a special meaning when it was used on its own as well. It was our very own secret language. Mostly we used it when we had helped Max do something he shouldn't have, and we were trying to avoid Mom's wrath.

I nodded at them, then headed up into the attic.

I peered around the corner before I walked out. Fang was sitting on the middle of the bed, wincing slightly. There was barely any light coming in from the high window, so he was mostly in shadow. Mollie peered around me, and I pushed her back a little. I was a little worried about how he would take this.

I stepped around the wall. Mollie and Max immediately followed, curiosity shining in their eyes. Fang looked up when he heard me come forward. It took me about five seconds to realize there was something wrong.

There was to much pain in his usually impassive face. Frowning, I came forward another step.

"What's wrong?" I asked, using my best no-nonsense voice. I had gotten a lot of practice with that voice when Max got on my nerves.

"I hid when your sister came in." he mumbled, wincing and nodding at Mollie. For a second I wondered how he knew Mollie was my sister, then disregarded it. We did look a little bit alike, and besides, who else would she be?

"But I think I… damaged something. In my back." he mumbled. Uh-oh.

"Let me see." I instructed. Very slowly, Fang stood up and unwound the sheet tied around him. Then he turned around and lifted up the back of his shirt.

The wounds were almost healed, but they had left several angry red scabs across his lower back. At the moment, the scabs were cracked, and oozing small amounts of blood in various places. I had had that happen to me before, on a much smaller scale, and I knew it hurt.

But still, I was surprised. All the research I had done online said that it could take months to recover from the sort of wound Fang had. It seemed that he had almost fully recovered in less than a week. Almost, but not quite, I thought, eyeing the dripping blood.

I heard Max and Mollie both gasp behind me, and I remembered that they were there. Well, if they were going to be here, they were going to work.

"Max, go wet down a towel with some warm water. An old one, so Mom won't miss it. Mollie, go get me a glass of orange juice and whatever little snack things you can find in the fridge. Oh, and especially something with sugar in it, like a muffin or something." I commanded. Weren't you supposed to eat sugary stuff when you lost a lot of blood? I couldn't remember. They both raced off without question. That had to be a first.

Only after they were gone did I realize that they might have been a little freaked by Fang's wings. Oh, well. He was living in our attic, for the time being. They would just have to get used to it.


	13. Erasers

**So, here's the next chapter. And there are erasers, just like I promised. As always, please review!!**

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**Chapter 12; Erasers**

The next morning, I faced an interesting dilemma. I realized that I was still suspended, and didn't have to go to school. Mom had clearly informed me the day before that I was on very strict house arrest, but aside from hat, was there anything I couldn't do? Was there something I was supposed to do?

I waited in my room until Mom left, just to make sure she wasn't going to yell at me some more or anything. As soon as I heard the door shut, my door opened and Max and Mollie slid inside. The night before they'd both been a huge help as I cleaned and re-bandaged Fang's injuries.

"You lucky! You get to stay home!" Mollie said, shaking her head enviously.

"Yeah, because she got in a fight." Max grumbled. "And anyways, I don't envy you. You're gonna scream when you see the list of chores Mom left you." He shook his head, with pity rather than envy.

They were both acting remarkably normal. Like nothing odd had happened last night, except for Mollie having a huge imagination. For a minute, I wondered if I had dreamed the whole thing. It had been at nighttime, after all… And then I realized what Max had just said.

"Chore list?" I gasped in disbelief. I jumped up out of bed and ran down to the kitchen. Sitting on the table was a list, which trailed over all the chairs and onto the floor. I grabbed the bottom of it and read, in very large letters: Don't forget, YOU ARE STILL GROUNDED!!! Signed, Mom.

"No!" I gasped in horror. Drat! I thought I'd escaped her! This list was almost three miles long! How did she expect me to do it all in one day?! Or was this for all three days? I certainly hoped so- I would at least have a chance of finishing that way.

"See you later." Max said smugly, heading out the door. Mollie gave me a sympathetic smile, and a pat on the arm as she headed out.

"Oh, and Alex?" she stuck her head around the doorframe. "Tell Fang I said bye, 'kay?" I gaped at her as she blew me a kiss and headed for the front door. I returned to gawking at The Dreaded List.

I looked at number 1. CLEAN BATHROOM, it said. And next to it, a little bit smaller- INCLUDES TOILET AND BATHTUB!

Grumbling to myself, I headed upstairs to put on some chore clothes, and find the cleanser.

It took me an hour and a half, but I had finally managed to work through about half of the chores on my list. I collapsed onto he couch at that point, to exhausted to take another step. I almost fell asleep right there, in my dirty, smelly, cleanser covered jeans. But, just as I started to nod off, the doorbell ran.

I headed for the front door, wondering who would be coming over at this time of day, when most people were at work. I pulled it open to find two guys who looked like hey could have been male models standing on our porch.

I blinked in surprise, and so did they. I guess they weren't expecting to find a teenage girl home alone at this time of day. Then they put on these totally fake, totally condescending smiles. Like, you're just a worthless kid, but since your parents aren't home, we'll talk to you anyways. I hate it when grownups do that.

"Whatever you're selling, I don't want it." I practically snarled, and started to close the door. One of the supermodel guys stuck out his foot, catching the door. I had fully intended to slam it, so there was quite a bit of force behind it. I saw the guy wince slightly, and found I didn't feel at all sorry.

"Kid, we jus want to talk." One of them (not the one who'd gotten his foot slammed) said in what he clearly thought was a soothing tone. To me, it almost sounded like a growl. I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" I said coldly.

"Yeah. We're from the Karen Smith Homeless Women and Children Center." He gave me a small smile. "We were just wondering if you've seen an strange kids wandering around in your area recently. We received an anonymous tip from somewhere around here that there was a homeless boy somewhere nearby. He's about fourteen, maybe a little older, kind of tallish. Wearing a lot of black? Long hair? Ring a bell?" The guys asked, giving me another too-big smile. The other guy chuckled slightly, as though there was some private joke I was missing. Geez, what was wrong with these creepers?

"Nope." I said casually, popping the p. Actually, I was a little freaked out. The boy they were describing sounded a lot like Fang.

The guys looked a little disappointed, but they began to back away.

"Sorry to bother you." One mumbled. Then they headed down to the curb, where they hopped into a large white van that seemed to be waiting for them. The driver's side window rolled down, and the guys sitting there stared at me.

He looked nothing like the others. He looked… rough. Like he was starting to tear apart at he seams. He stared at me harder than the others had, like he was trying to see past me, into the house. I shuddered involuntarily, and he grinned. It was a predator's grin, and it scared me. Quickly, I turned around and shut the door.

Fang was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, watching me with a solemn expression. He was completely unmoving, not unusual for him, but something told me it was fear that held him still, not his usual impassiveness.

I said nothing, just waited for him to speak. Finally, we both opened our mouths at the same time.

"I think-" I started.

"I was-" he said. I stopped talking and waited for him.

"I was afraid you were going to tell them. Not many people can resist the Erasers." he said.


	14. Explainations

**Sorry it's been so long since my last update. Cello practice, media club, babysitting, school... well, my liffe's been kinda hectic lately. So now I'm trying to update all my stories as fast as I can. Anyways, here's chapter 13. As always, PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

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**Chapter 13; Explainations**

"What do you mean? What are erasers?" I demanded. Fang slowly descended the last few steps, and sank to the floor at the bottom. I crossed the room slowly and sat down next to him.

"Erasers are part human, part wolf mutations. Most people just tell them anything they want." he said. I noticed that his face wasn't as pale as it had been for the last few days. I took that as I good sign- it meant he was healing.

"Why are they after you?" I asked. There was no doubt in my mind now; those Erasers had been after Fang. He smiled grimly.

"It's kind of a long story." he said.

"I'm suspended from school." I reminded him. "I've got all day." He nodded thoughtfully.

"True." he said. He looked away, staring at the wall.

"You already know I'm a genetic hybrid. What I didn't tell you was that I was created at a place called The School, in California." he started, but I cut him off.

"Is it in a place called Death Valley, by any chance?" I asked. He stared at me.

"How'd you know that?" he demanded.

"I did some research." I muttered, looking down at my hands. "I started by searching for genetics labs, then missing children reports. I found a few places with a pretty high disappearing rate. I was going to ask Max to do some digging for me. He's good with computers." I looked up at Fang, and he was shaking his head.

"What?" I asked. He smiled slightly.

"I'm impressed. You actually tried to figure out where I was from." he said. I shrugged.

"I didn't do a very good job. Anyways, keep going." I urged. He took a deep breath, and looked away again.

"I escaped when I was still really little. One of the scientists broke us out, and took us away to a secret place in the Colorado mountains." I noticed when he slipped into the plural again, but didn't comment.

"The Erasers were the only other experiments that made it past infancy. Most of the Schools creations only last a year, at most. The Erasers were designed to be the punishers, the executioners, back at the School. "

"The Erasers have always hunted us. Even when we thought we were free, they were always after us. The cuts on my back? An Eraser gave me those. The wackos at The School grafted some bird DNA into them so they could chase us easier." Fang finally looked up at me, coming out of his reverie.

"And that's everything, pretty much." he said. I nodded.

"What happened to the others? The ones you escaped with, I mean." I asked. He froze staring at me.

"How did you know there were others?" he demanded.

"You kept saying 'we'." I said with a shrug. He looked at me for a long second, then shook his head.

"I escaped with five others. Max, Iggy, Nudge, The Gasman, and Angel. We stuck together, even when Jeb, the scientist who broke us out and then betrayed us, disappeared. I was with them when the Eraser cut me. I don't know where they are now." he said quietly.

We were both silent for a while, then I said, quietly, "I'm sorry." He shrugged.

"It's okay. I'm almost healed. I'll be able to go find them soon enough." he stared at the wall again as he spoke.

I was surprised to find myself a little choked up at this; I realized that I didn't want him to leave. How odd.

"How did the Erasers know you were here?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Who knows? We thought they might be tracking us through Max, because she has this microchip in her arm. But I really don't know." He said.

"Do you think they'll come back?" I asked. I shivered slightly, remembering the Eraser in the front of the van. He was the only one who had truly scared me.

"Don't know." Fang said. I could tell by his tone that he was reverting to his usual one-and-two word answers.

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That night, I lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling. I hated to admit it, but I was getting a little bit scared. At first, when I'd originally let Fang stay in the attic, it was just the right thing to do. It was strange, but also fun. But now… everything was starting to get serious. The Erasers- which were really dangerous, if Fang was to be believed- were knocking on my door, and I didn't know what was going to happened next. I was scared (not that I would tell anyone that), and a more than a little worried. Not just for myself, but for my whole family. At the moment, I had no idea what to do.

**PLEASE**,_ **PLEASE**_, **_PLEASE_** REVIEW!!!


	15. Kidanpped

**'Kay, next chapter. Please review! I don't mind flames!!**

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**Chapter 14; Kidnapped**

The rest of the week was a blur. Fang was healing extraordinarily quickly. He tried to fly, but only managed to get about ten feet off the ground before turning pale and dropping back down. Gracie came over twice to see how he was doing. Max and Mollie, amazingly, kept the secret. Mom still had no idea that there was an injured mutant bird kid hiding in her attic.

Mom had to work on Saturday, which left the job of babysitting to me. Normally, I would've hated this, but today I welcomed it. Whenever Mom was away, Fang could come downstairs and spread his wings out. As he got better, the attic was becoming increasingly restrictive to movement.

Fang was sitting on the window seat, peering out at the street through a tiny gap in the curtains. Max had the cartoons on, three empty cereal bowls in front of him. What can I say, the kid can eat! I was doing homework at the kitchen table. Across from me sat Mollie, doing some kind of logic puzzle, sipping daintily on a glass of lemonade. Every now and then, she would look up and glare pointedly at the TV and Max. Max didn't get the message. Finally, she got up, stomped over to the television, snatched up the remote, and turned the volume waay down.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?!" Max cried indignantly. I rolled my eyes. _Here it comes_, I thought dryly.

"It was to loud." Mollie snapped.

"No it wasn't!" Max complained. He made a swipe at the remote, but Mollie jumped nimbly back. Max lunged to his feet angrily. _Time for some parental supervision_, I thought. These two were so predictable. I got up and stepped in between my brother and sister.

"You idiot!" Max was shouting.

"Retard!" Mollie called back, clutching the remote to her chest.

"Shut up, both of you!" I said, trying to force them apart. They paid no attention to me.

"Loser!"

"Creep!"

"Maniac!"

"Booger!"

"Troll!"

"Freak!"

"Get down!"

The last shout came from Fang, and I was the only one to hear it. Max and Mollie were so involved in their argument; they didn't even notice anything was wrong until the door came flying off its hinges.

All of us turned towards the door in shock. A bunch of men ran in, grinning at us. Only these smiles seemed a little off, a little… wolfish. Then one walked- no, strutted- into the living room, wearing a smug smile, and I knew these were Erasers. The man who'd just come in was the Eraser from the van, the one I was scared silly of.

Fang was already moving. He ran straight at one of the Erasers, jumping in midair and kicking him solidly in the chest. The Eraser wheezed, staggering backward. He lunged forward, taking a swipe at Fang's head, but his enormous paw only raked through air. Fang had ducked, and was still moving.

It took me a second to unfreeze. Then I grabbed Mollie and Max by their arms and starting dragging them towards the kitchen and the side door. Two Erasers popped up in front of us, grinning wolfishly.

"Leaving so soon? The party's just getting started!" One growled, and then, before our eyes, he began to change.

His jaw elongated, becoming a muzzle. Thick, shaggy hair erupted all over his body, and his fingernails grew into long, curved, wicked looking claws. He sank down onto all fours, growling. Several others started circling us. Mollie uttered a soft scream. One of them smiled and lunged for her. I didn't stop to think, which might have explained why I did the stupidest thing I could have done.

The pencil that I'd been doing my homework with was still in my hand. I reached out as the Eraser lunged for Mollie, and stabbed with it's sharpened tip, sinking the pencil deep into whatever part of him was closest- it happened to be his eye.

The Eraser screamed in agony. It was the single most horrifying, earsplitting noise I'd ever heard. He dropped to the ground and began rolling around, literally writhing in pain. Two of the others ganged up on me, one grabbing my arms from behind me, the other grabbing my throat in his huge, hairy paw, slowly crushing my windpipe. I couldn't even scream.

They were so strong! I knew now that I wouldn't be able to beat them through sheer muscle- they were genetically enhanced, and I was not. Their eyes were a weak point, as I now knew, and there was one other place where all males- part wolf or not part wolf- are vulnerable.

I was seeing black spots now, and starting to get tunnel vision. I jerked my leg up as hard as I could, straight into the Eraser choking me. He let out a wheeze of pain and doubled over, gasping for breath. Best of all, he let go of my throat.

I tried to wriggle free of the one holding my arms, but he was infinitely stronger than me. I could feel his hot breath on my throat, but just as his teeth began to brush my skin, someone shouted, "STOP!"

The breath on my neck vanished, and I looked around. The lead Eraser- the one I was afraid of- seemed to have called the order. At least that's what I assumed, because suddenly everyone was looking at him. He was looking at me, his hard eyes making me shiver.

"We aren't supposed to kill them, remember?" he said in a gruff voice. His voice was different from the others, too. It was rougher, not as silky. Although he looked just like the others in wolf form.

My eyes found Fang. He was on his back, and it looked like one of the Erasers had thrown him at the couch hard enough to knock it over. One arm was raised slightly as though to block any oncoming blows. His eyes met mine, and for once, they weren't blank, like normal. They were full of emotions; I just didn't know what they were.

"Get 'em in the truck." the lead Eraser growled. I looked for Max and Mollie, and saw several Erasers tying their wrists and ankles together with plastic cord. I felt something tight on my own hands and feet, and realized they were tying me up as well.

It took me a second to find a name for this- it had never happened to me before. I had almost thought it only happened in movies. I was being kidnapped.


	16. The School Meet and Greet

**Okay, so a people keep telling me my chapters are to short, so this one's a little longer. Lot's of exitement! As always, PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

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**Chapter 15; The School Meet and Greet**

The Erasers loaded us into the back of their white van, which was parked out front. As they shoved me into the dark, cramped space, I glanced at Fang.

"I'm sorry." he mouthed. I didn't have time to say anything else, because they finished loading us up and slammed the doors, leaving us in complete darkness.

"Alex? I'm scared." Mollie whispered.

"It's going to be okay." I promised with a confidence I did not feel. Rule number one of being an older sibling; Never show fear.

"Where are we going?" Max whispered as the van roared to life.

"I'm not sure." I whispered back, at the same time Fang said, "The School, I think." We were all silent then, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

We rode for what seemed like hours. Finally, we stopped. The doors opened, and rough hands pulled us out. They blindfolded us, then someone untied my hands. Something that felt like bread and a glass were shoved into my hands. Were they trying to poison us? My stomach rumbled hungrily, and I decided I didn't care.

Tentatively, I took a small bite out of the bread. It was not good bread, but at least I didn't keel over dead. I shoved the rest into my mouth, then drained the glass of water. I looked up to where I estimated the Erasers to be.

"Um, excuse me? I really need to pee." I said. A few Erasers chuckled, then someone grabbed me by my arm, jerking me to my feet. Grumbling all the way, he dragged me off somewhere. After a second, we stopped.

"I kind of need to see." I said, irritated. There was a moment of silence, then my blindfold came off. I gasped as I realized my escort was the ugly Eraser, the one who didn't seem to be as seamlessly patched together as the others. He turned around while I did my business, then he blindfolded me and herded me back to the others.

"Time to go." he growled, and shoved me back into the van. Once we were inside, we all maneuvered around, getting our blindfolds off. Finally, we sat facing each other, hitting what felt like every bump and pothole in the road, waiting.

We didn't stop again. I fell in and out of sleep, never sinking deep enough to dream. When we finally stopped, the Erasers sprayed some kind of gas into the back of the van. I tried not to breathe in, but eventually my lungs gave out. The air tasted sickly sweet as I gasped in a lungful of air. I felt myself drifting off to sleep again…

I woke up in a cage.

My vision was blurry at first, and I blinked several times, trying to clear my eyes. When things did come into focus, I couldn't believe my eyes. Thick bars surrounded me on all sides, pressing down on my head and digging into my back. I looked to my left and gasped in shock, trying to scoot to my right.

There was a creature in the cage next to mine. I say creature, because this thing could not be described as human. He (at least, I think it was a he), had bluish-green scales covering his entire body. His eyes were spaced to far apart on his face, and he didn't seem to have a mouth. Instead, he had what appeared to be gills on either side of his neck. He was making awful, rasping noises; I got the impression that he couldn't breathe.

I looked to my right. Fang was slumped on the bottom of his cage, eyes closed. I looked across the isle and saw Max and Mollie in cages next to each other. Mollie was still unconscious as well, but Max met my eyes. Fear showed clearly there. He looked at the human-fish lying in the cage next to mine, then around at all the other cages. A small whimper escaped from his lips. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Uhn…" Fang groaned. I whipped around to stare at him. He was pushing himself up off the floor of his cage, one hand holding his head. He looked around slowly, taking everything in. Then he looked at me. I was shocked by the look in his eyes- the look of a trapped animal.

A door clanged somewhere. All of us looked at each other quickly. Footsteps sounded, getting closer and closer. A pair of legs and a swishing white lab coat came into view. A man bent down next to the cage beside mine- that is, Fang's.

"Hello, Fang." The man said. Fang's expression was like stone, like granite; it made me shiver. Characteristically, he said nothing. The man sighed.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way. You'll understand later." The man said. I saw something like anger flash through Fang's eyes, but it was gone so quickly, I wasn't sure that I'd seen it. With another sigh, the man turned to me.

"Hello there. You must be Alexandria. My name is Jeb." he said.

"Alex." I corrected automatically, even as my brain started turning. I remembered a conversation between Fang and myself, back at my house, what felt like a lifetime ago. He'd said something like _The scientist who helped us escape and then betrayed us, Jeb_…Could this be the same Jeb. I glanced at Fang's rock hard expression, and I knew it was.

"I see. Alex. I'm very sorry about all this." he waved a hand, as though to encompass the cage, the mutants, the entire building.

"Yeah, me too." I said acidly. Jeb almost smiled.

"Yes, well. Anyways, we're going to let you, and your brother and sister, go." Jeb said. My eyebrows shot up.

"_Really_." I said sarcastically. Jeb nodded.

"Yes, _really_. It's not you we're interested in." He said.

"And what's to stop me from telling al the world about this place once I'm free?" I challenged. Jeb smiled, a little condescendingly, making my blood boil.

"And who would believe you?" he asked. I gritted my teeth.

"What about him?" I asked, jerking my head towards Fang. Jeb said nothing, but looked at me gravely.

"If he stays, then so do I." I said firmly. Jeb raised his eyebrows. I glanced at Fang out of the corner of my eye. Open shock and surprise were written plainly on his face.

"Me too." Max said.

"Yeah, me three." Mollie added.

"Oh, no you most certainly are not!" I snapped.

"Oh, yes we most certainly are." They said in unison. Jeb's eyebrows lifted even further.

"You want to stay." he said, disbelievingly.

"Are you mentally challenged? I believe that's what we just said." I snarled.

"Hmm." Jeb murmured. "All right then. You can stay. But it will not be pleasant." he shrugged. As he began to walk away, I got the impression that he'd been trying to prove something with that conversation. I just wasn't sure what.

"Why'd you do that?" Fang whispered. I turned as much as I could to look at him.

"Firstly, because I don't trust Jeb, and his offer didn't make any sense. Why let us go? And besides- you didn't think I was just going to abandon you here, did you?" I smiled slightly. Fang shook his head.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." he said quietly.

"Well, of course not. That's why it's an adventure." I said. Fang's jaw almost hit the floor of his cage.

"Is this all just a game to you?" he hissed furiously.

Pitching my voice so that the younger two wouldn't hear me, I hissed back, "Of course not! I know I could die here. I can see the others all around me. I know how genetics work- every species has a different number of chromosomes, and they don't mix. I know how often mistakes are made. But I'm sticking this out- I'm not going anywhere. Besides, there's that whole I-don't-trust-Jeb factor." I said. Fang looked like he was about to argue, but Mollie cut in gently.

"Fang, we're here as long as you are. Just accept it. There's really no point to arguing." she said gently.

Fang looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Glad we got that settled." I said.


	17. My Way Out

**Wow, it's been a while since I've updated!! I'm sorry about that, I was trying to finish this chapter before break, and then I couldnt, and I couldnt post it in Florida... so, sorry. Anyways, here's chapter 16. Hope you like it.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!! I DONT MIND FLAMES!!**

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Chapter 16; My Way Out

I don't know how long we were there for. It could have been hours, or it could have been days. I drifted in and out of consciousness, never really sleeping. I lost track of the number of times they came for us. Sometimes it would just be one of us, or two, or sometimes all four. I don't know where they took me- they always put me under as they removed me from my crate.

We didn't talk much. We were all constantly exhausted, Fang most of all. The few conversations we did have mostly started with, "Do you remember…". I did have one conversation with Fang, early on in our captivity that forced me to relive some painful memories.

"Hey, Alex?" he had whispered. We were both slumped in our cages, bored out of our minds, and extremely tired. Max and Mollie were both sleeping (or they appeared to be sleeping) in their own cages.

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

"Can I ask you a… personal question?" he asked hesitantly.

"Sure." I said tiredly.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just wondering… about your dad." he said. I stiffened. "I never saw him at your house, and you never mentioned him. I was just… well, wondering." I was silent for a long time.

"Like I said, you don't have to tell me." he muttered, embarrassed.

"No, it's okay. It's not too personal. My dad died, a few weeks after Mollie was born. He was a policeman. He was… gunned down, trying to catch a group of bank robbers. I don't think they meant to kill him, they were just shooting wildly, but they got him in the head." I said. The flashing of red and blue lights filled my head. I had been only seven at the time, and I hadn't fully understood what was happening.

"It was on my birthday." I whispered. Fang looked at me. "He was supposed to come home for dinner. Mom made a special dinner- all my favorite foods. She made me a birthday cake, too, the biggest one I'd ever seen. We waited to start eating for an hour. Finally mom said we should start without him. She said he'd probably get there once we'd started eating. But he never came." A tear rolled down my cheek, and I brushed it away angrily. Fang touched my hand through the cage. I looked at him in surprise. His eyes were full of sympathy.

That was the last time any of us talked for a very, very, very long time.

And then, one day, something changed.

It started with a clanging noise, then the squeaking sound of wheels. Then I could hear Eraser voices, jeering and shouting, and getting closer. I peered out of my cage, looking for the source of the noise.

The group of Erasers rounded the corner, pushing a metal cart. Stacked on the cart were four cages. I counted two girls and one boy. None of them looked familiar. The Erasers were taunting them, hitting their cages and laughing. Every now and then, one of the kids would shout back or grit their teeth. I recognized the Eraser leader (Fang had told me his name was Ari, and that he was Jeb's seven-year-old son). He seemed to be picking on one kid in particular, the oldest girl. She also seemed to be the one shouting back the most.

I didn't know them, but Fang did. As the cart got closer, he leaned forward, grasping the bars and watching the Erasers with rapt attention.

The Erasers stopped in front of me. They started unloading the cages, shoving them roughly onto the tables around us. The oldest girl was put into the cage on my left, the younger girl was placed next to Max, and the older boy was on Fang's other side. As soon as the Erasers were gone, Fang and the other kids started talking. It started with the girl next to me, the oldest.

"So there you are." she said grimly, looking directly at Fang.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in disbelief.

"Sitting in a dog cage." she said. "We figured the Erasers had caught you, so we came to look for you here. We broke in, and they caught us. I'm not sure about Gazzy and Angel."

_Gazzy and Angel_… The names triggered a memory. Fang had told me about his flock a while ago, back at my house. I looked at the other kids around me, and tried to put names to them. The nearest I could guess was Max, Nudge and Iggy.

Silence fell as the sound of shoes tapping against linoleum reached our ears. I looked up as Jeb stopped in front of my cage. He was wearing a small, sad smile.

"Sorry about this." he said. _I'm so sure_, I thought tiredly. He reached through the bars of my cage and slid a needle under my skin. Immediately, everything went black.

I woke up before I was supposed to.

I could tell because I was in a big, white, antiseptic smelling room that I'd never seen before. Everything was fuzzy, like I should be wearing glasses. It was hard to think straight when the room kept spinning. I turned my head with difficulty, and saw a group of people wearing white lab coats gathered around a lighted board.

I turned my head the other way, and froze. There was a tray there, filled with shiny metal tools. They looked like a surgeons tools, but they were pushed away from me, and not covered in blood. I looked slowly back towards the scientists, then towards the tray of tools.

I was still wearing the same jeans and t-shirt they had brought me here in. Without even checking to see if anyone was watching me, I reached out and grabbed one of the tools. I didn't check to see which one I'd grabbed, I just shoved it into me pocket, hoping no one had noticed. Then I closed my eyes, because the room was still spinning.

A little while later, footsteps approached me. I kept myself limp and still as they carried me back to my dog crate. I heard the clang of metal as the door slammed shut, but I didn't react to it. For once, I was absurdly happy.

I had a way out.

I was going to beat them.


	18. Jeb's Opinion

**please review!**

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**Chapter 16.5; Jeb's Opinion**

The screens glowed faintly in the dim room. Jeb leaned closer, watching the monitors through slightly narrowed eyes.

"Are you sure about this?" Jeb asked, glancing up at the man beside him. The man flicked a contemptuous glance at Jeb.

"Of course. All the test show-"

"The tests could be wrong." Jeb said quietly. The man straightened up, turning his full attention to Jeb.

"Nonsense. She's perfect. It will work. And, of course, we may not need her." His lip curled maliciously. "If you are to be believed." Jeb ignored the mans criticism, looking back at the screens.

"You still disapprove?" he asked. Jeb shrugged stiffly.

"It's unnecessary." he said through tight lips. "And risky. We do not need this added-"

"If you fail Jeb, it _will _be necessary. We cannot take chances here." They both fell silent.

"Are you surprised she decided to stay of her own accord?" Jeb asked, changing the subject. The man shrugged.

"A little. Still, they are twins. It would be interesting to do an experiment..." he said thoughtfully.

"She doesn't know that."

"True. Still." They both gazed at the screen for a while longer. Then the man sighed and straightened up, brushing off the front of his suit and smoothing his hair back.

"Very well. I'm leaving you in charge, Batchelder. _Do not_ mess this up." he said threateningly. The man turned to leave. Suddenly, Jeb said, "If she finds out about us, about our role in her past, she will turn on us. Especially if she find out about her father." The man paused and looked back, one hand on the door. He smirked.

"She won't find out. And in the unlikely event that she does, I think we can control her." he said confidently. He swept out of the room without another word. Jeb turned back to the monitor and sighed.

"I wouldn't be so sure." he murmured.

"I _definitely_ don't like this plan."


	19. The Escape

**It's been a while since I've updated- almost a year -so I'm very sorry. Anywho, I hope you're still reading**. **Again, **_**Please Review!**_

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**Chapter 17; The Escape**

I didn't have a plan. As my head cleared, I began to see a lot of flaws in what I had done.

First of all, I had no idea what I'd grabbed. I didn't know if it would open a lock, or if the locks on these cages were reinforced with _Adamantium_ or whatever. Which brought me to my second problem: I didn't know how to pick a lock. That was a little easier to solve; Max probably knew. I mean my brother Max, not the girl Max.

Third, if I somehow managed to get us all out of our cages before the Erasers came down on us, how did we get out? I mean, this place must be huge. And I doubted they would have those nice floor plans with all the rooms labeled like they have in malls.

I sat in my cage and brooded for a while. Finally, I decided I would have to do what I usually do: wing it. Maybe literally this time.

"Max." I hissed. Both Max's looked at me. I sighed in frustration.

"Not you." I said in Maximum's general direction. "Maxwell." I said, looking directly at me brother.

"What?" he asked sleepily.

"Um, do you know how to pick a lock with this?" I asked, pulling the weird, shiny looking surgical device out of my jeans pocket.

Immediately, everybody sat up a little straighter.

"Where did you get that?" Fang demanded, staring at the tool like it was going to save all our lives. Maybe it was.

"I guess the drugs wore off a little to fast." I said with a shrug. Fang and Max (Maximum, not Maxwell) exchanged a look. I turned back to my brother. You know what? From now on, I'm calling them Maxwell and Maximum.

"So, can you do it?" I asked him. Max_well_ swallowed, inspecting the tool from across the isle. He looked up, met my eyes, and nodded.

"It looks like something I once used to pick the lock on your door when I was trying to steal your bike key. I've already checked out the locks on these cages. I bet I could do it." he said.

"Good. Hey, wait- _you_ took my bike key?" I said, torn between anger and amusement.

Maxwell looked like he was mentally hitting himself.

"Um, yeah. But that's not important right now." he said quickly. I shook my head, but conceded the point.

"Yeah, fine. But I'm gonna kick your butt when we get out of this mess." I muttered. "Can you catch it?"

Maxwell inspected his cage, then nodded. I carefully judged the distance, reached through the bars, and tossed it.

And he caught it. By the tips of his fingers, mind you, but still, he caught it. I let out a sigh of relief.

"If he can't get it, I can." I heard Iggy mutter. He sounded pretty confident that Maxwell wouldn't manage it. But I know my brother- if he can pick three individual padlocks in under twenty seconds with only a pencil and a pen cap to help him (which he can, and has), he can do this.

And I was right. Max- sorry, Maxwell- picked the lock on his cage in just a few seconds. He hopped out eagerly, stretching and grinning.

"Man, this feels great." he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Uh, Max? The rest of us would like to stretch our legs too." I grumbled.

"Oh, right." he said quickly. He bent down next to Mollie's cage, unlocking it even faster then his own.

"He did it." Iggy sounded surprised. I knew he was blind, but he must have heard the creaking of the cage doors opening, and my comment.

Maxwell let me out next, then Fang. He was about to put the tool back in his pocket, but Fang stopped him.

"Them too." he said. Maxwell gave him one questioning look, but didn't wait for an explanation. We watched as he unlatched the others cages.

"What now?" Mollie asked. She and Maxwell both looked at me, as though I could magically pull a solution out of my pocket as easily as I had pulled the surgical tool. I looked up and realized that all the others were looking at Maximum. I looked at her too, hoping maybe she had a plan.

I could tell that she didn't, but she quickly pulled herself together.

"Okay. Follow me." she said.

We followed Maximum over to a door. It was locked, naturally, but we had Iggy and Maxwell on our side. Together, they had the door open in, like, seconds.

Of course, the doorway was filled with Erasers. It couldn't have been easy for once, could it?

"Heads up, guys!" Maximum called, and I was instantly surrounded by fighting bird kids.

They were good. I mean, for genetically enhanced mutant bird kids. I watched Maximum break one of the Erasers noses, then kick him in the chest so hard he staggered backwards, lost his balance, and fell over. I was frozen for a moment, watching the flock dismantling the Erasers, until I heard Mollie scream.

I swung around in time to see one of the Erasers throw her into the wall. She lay there, unmoving, as icy fear closed around my heart. The Eraser raised a huge paw as though he were going to hit her again. I ran at him and jumped him from behind, grabbing his arm. He twisted around, grinning at me, and I realized it was Ari.

He lunged at me, grabbing my upper arm in a painfully tight grip that made me cry out. He leaned towards me, his huge canines dripping with blood.

All of a sudden, I was enraged. Mollie was hurt, I couldn't see Max, I was trapped in a top secret facility in the middle of nowhere, I had been kidnapped, and I was about to die. _What the hell_, I thought.

I punched him. I heard the sickening crunch of breaking bones as my fist collided with Ari's jaw bone. He howled in pain and tried to punch me. My reflexes kicked in and I ducked, twisting under his arm and coming up behind him. I grabbed his arm, twisted it around behind him, and yanked. I knew I'd dislocated his shoulder when I heard him howl again. I let him go, and he stumbled forward. Then I kicked the back of his knees, knocking him over. I heard a loud crack as his head hit the floor, and he didn't get up again.

I looked up and realized the battle was over. Dead or unconscious Erasers were strewn all over the floor, and everyone was watching me. I could see emotions ranging from amazement to suspicion. Maxwell looked awed.

"What?" I asked, a little self-consciously.

"You just took out a fully grown Eraser." Maximum said hoarsely.

"Oh." I wasn't sure what to say. "Is that bad?"

"No, it's really good. Just… surprising." Fang muttered. I looked at them all for another second, then turned around and scooped up Mollie. She was still breathing, thank God.

"Is she okay?" Fang asked, concerned. I examined the cut on Mollie's forehead.

"Yeah, she'll be alright." I told him.

"Okay, people, let's move!" Maximum called. We all started heading down the long, sterile white hallway.


	20. Free as a Bird

**So... next chapter. not much to say. hope u like! please review! (i know, i'm lame)**

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**Chapter 18; Free As A Bird**

We smashed through the big white doors and burst out into the early morning sunshine. I raised one hand to shade my eyes. It had been so long since I'd seen any light besides the fluorescent bulbs in the School, I'd forgotten what real sunlight looked like.

Even more surprising than the light was the air. It was fresh, and tasted like grass and rain, as opposed to the faintly chemical, recycled air I was used to by now. I breathed deeply, thrilled to be alive and outside.

The others didn't take long to revel in the feeling of freedom. One of the girls- Nudge - took Mollie in her arms and leaped into the air, spreading beautiful tawny wings and beating them hard to stay aloft. A tinny alarm began to clang somewhere nearby. Iggy grabbed Maxwell and took off as well. Gazzy and Angel were already hovering up there, waiting. Fang and Maximum both had to carry me, although when we first lifted off, they seemed surprised by how light I was.

We didn't go too far, maybe a few miles north. We landed in the middle of a little town, behind a mall. We hadn't talked much in the air, partly because of the heavy burdens four of the flock members were carrying. Once we were all, on our feet again, however, there was quite a bit of conversation.

The flock let out whoops with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and converged on Fang. Maxwell and I kelt down next to Mollie. The cut on her head wasn't bad. It had mostly clotted already, but her face was covered in warm, sticky blood. I hoped she hadn't lost too much. Even as I began wiping the blood away with my shirt, her eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" she whispered. I smiled, happiness bubbling up in my throat.

"We escaped!" I said. "We're free!" Mollie smiled, her dark eyes lighting up. Someone tapped my shoulder, and Maxwell and I stood up. The Flock was watching us curiously. Fang cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable.

"Um… Guys, this is Alex, Max, and Mollie. They helped me after I got hurt in Ohio. They got captured by the Erasers when they came after me. This is Max, Iggy, Nugde, Gazzy and Angel." he said, pointing to everyone in turn. I found myself very uncomfortable. I managed a weak little wave. Mollie struggled to her feet on my other side, and I bent down to help her. She inspected the others, then touched her bloody face with a frown.

"I think I need a shower." she said.

That broke the ice. Everyone started laughing and talking at once. Angle and Nugde came over to Mollie and started talking to her while trying to do something with her hair. Maxwell started talking with Iggy and Gazzy, and I noticed that he had pulled out the surgical instrument he had used to pick our locks. I eyed him warily. Meanwhile, Fang, Maximum and myself had gathered together to talk.

"We have to get out of California." Maximum said urgently. Fang nodded.

"Mollie and Max and I can borrow a car." I said uncertainly. "To get back home. I sort of know how to drive." Well, not at all, actually, but I was sure I could figure it out. Well, almost sure. Kind of sure.

"They'll be after you too, now." Fang said. "We should come with you. Make sure you get home safely." I sighed. More than anything, I wanted to accept the offer. But…

"We'd just slow you down." I said, shaking my head. Maximum sighed.

"No, he's right. You helped us escape. The least we can do is make sure you don't get dragged back there." She thought for a second.

"Okay." she said suddenly. She clapped her hands together, and the others gathered around. I was starting to get why she was the leader.

"Okay guys. We're gonna get Alex and Max and Mollie back home. But first, we're gonna stop and get some food, maybe a change of clothes. We're gonna… borrow a car, since they can't fly." she said. The others nodded. As we started to head out from behind the mall, I grabbed Maximum's arm.

"Do you have money for food and clothes and stuff, or are we gonna 'borrow' those, too?" I asked. Max flushed slightly, then shrugged.

"I've got a limitless credit card." she said. My eyebrows shot up.

"Umm… okay, then." I said.

You know, I don't think I've ever enjoyed anything quite as much as I enjoyed Burger King that day. Maxwell and I dunked fries in our vanilla milkshakes (Which is better than it sounds, but Mollie won't touch it. Neither would the bird kids.), and watched the bird kids wolf down huge helpings of burgers, fries, and about six shakes each. Mollie had one of those happy meal knock-offs that they serve in just about every fast food place these days, with the burger and fries and little toy. She and Angel were playing with their little figurines.

Suddenly, Maximum made a quiet noise, kind of a muffled cry of pain. I looked at her, and she had dropped her head into her hands. Fang, who was sitting next to her, had leaned over and was watching her with concern, one hand resting on her shoulder. None of the others seemed to have noticed anything was wrong, except maybe Mollie, who was watching Maximum while sucking the last of her root beer out of her cup.

After a minute or two, Maximum's head came up, and I was close enough to hear and see the quiet exchange between her and Fang.

"The Voice?" Fang asked. Max nodded.

"We need to leave." her voice sounded strained. Their eyes met, and then they glanced around at the restaurant. I looked around too, but didn't see anything. Then I happened to glance at one of the security camera's mounted on the wall. It was aimed directly at our table. On a hunch, I glanced at the other cameras as well. All pointed at us. A shiver went down my spine.

Only then did I realize that Max's headache hadn't gone quite as unnoticed as I'd thought. The other kids were all still talking and laughing just like they had a second before, but now I could detect a slightly forced look in their smiles, a tightness in their muscles, like they were ready to spring into action at any second, and their eyes occasionally swept the restaurant. Next to me, Nudge tapped Angels' hand under the table. _Okay, they're good_. I thought.

Casually, the kids got to their feet and started dumping their trays. I followed suit, throwing the remains of my milkshake and fish sandwich into the trash and heading for the door. Right as Maximum opened the door, sirens flashed and wailed outside, and police pulled up in front of the restaurant, aiming guns at us over the tops of their cars. It was like a movie, except much, much more scary.

_The police are in on it? Whatever "it" is._

"Back!" Maximum said sharply, gesturing wildly. We all sprinted back towards the back exit, but found it similarly blocked.

"Everybody out!" Maximum snapped. "Immediate up and away!" The bird kids nodded, and I saw Nudge gesture for Molly to join her.

_We'll just slow you down_.

"Wait!" I said. Nudge and Mollie looked at me curiously. I grabbed her arm and Maxwell's, pulling them back a little bit. I spoke directly to Maximum and Fang, my words tripping over each other.

"Meet us twenty miles north, stay above route 99." I said, then turned and dragged Mollie and Max backwards, towards the girls' bathroom.

I slammed through the doors, then went right to the toilet where I'd gone earlier, when I'd taken Mollie to the bathroom to wash the blood off her face. I clambered up onto the tank, reached up and lifted the grate from the air vent off the wall. I peered into it, then nodded, stepping down off the tank. I heard the sound of crashing glass from the restaurant.

"'Kay guys, step on it. Into the vent." I said quickly.

"You're crazy." Mollie grumbled as I boosted her into the vent. Max climbed in next, shaking his head. The doorknob rattled, and I thanked my lucky stars that I'd thought to lock it.

I climbed up into the vent, pulling the grate in behind me. Just in time; The door slammed open, and policemen swarmed in. I held very still, hardly daring to breathe. Up close, the policemen started to look a lot like Erasers.

Not once, in their entire search, did any of the men look up at the grate. Very slowly, Mollie and Max began to crawl forward, and I followed, easing painfully slowly away from the bathroom.

We stopped when the vent dead ended, and a shaft opened above us onto the roof. Mollie stood on Max's shoulders to reach the grate, then he stood on mine, then they both pulled me out. I looked around, gauging the situation.

Police cars surrounded the building, but most of the Erasers seemed to be inside. The Flock were nowhere to be seen. I hoped they'd already flown away.

Next, I started checking out the cars.

Mostly, there were police cars. A few minivans, one or two sports cars. I know nothing about cars, so I was sadly unable to appreciate the sports cars, but they looked very fancy. My eyes settled on a medium sized car, silver, completely unremarkable. I pointed it out to the others.

"Max, I hope you know how to hotwire a car." I said, then sighed. "And I'm gonna need that silver thingie we stole."

"What, this?" Mac asked, pulling the surgical device we'd used to escape out of his pocket. I nodded.

"Yeah. Mollie, stick close to Max, 'kay?" Mollie nodded, too scared to do much else. I took the tool from Max.

"Okay, here's the plan."


	21. I MUST Be Crazy

**I had some technical difficulties last night, during which a lot of things got out of order, and so were deleted, re-uploaded, and promtly got out of order again. my apologies to anyone who was trying to read this during that time. i think everything's okay now, but let me know if there are any errors in how the chapters are ordered. whoops. my bad. **

**anywho, please review!**

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**Chapter 19; I _Must_ Be Crazy**

We dropped off the roof onto the dumpsters at the back of the building. There were no windows or doors back here, and there was another building right in front of us. Luckily, the police, or Erasers, weren't covering this area.

We crept up to the side of the building. Max took Mollie's hand, and they both snuck off towards the car I'd picked out. I came behind them, stopping at each police car I came across. I went out of my way a little bit, passing as many cars as possible. Finally, I came up next to the car we were "borrowing" and slipped into the passengers seat.

"Did you do it?" Max asked, pale-faced. I nodded grimly.

"We all set?" I asked him. He managed a smile.

"I think so." he said I took a deep breath.

"Then let's go." I said. Max bent over and did something under the dashboard. The car came to life much quieter then I had hoped for. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Max and I switched seats quickly. I inspected the various dials and knobs for a minute, then nodded to myself. It was an automatic, for which I was extremely grateful. Gently, I eased into reverse, then pressed the gas.

Man, oh, man did we move! I slammed into the car parked behind us with a really nasty _crunch_ and the sound of breaking glass. Wincing, I threw the car into drive and hit the gas.

"Man alive!" Max shouted, paling and grabbing his seat. I glanced out the window and saw Erasers running out of the building. The car jerked forward.

Miraculously, I actually made it out of the lot and onto the highway. Max let out a whoop, while I whispered, "Oh man oh man oh man…" frantically under my breath. Mollie was screaming in the backseat. I really hoped she was buckled, unlike me. In afterthought, it seemed like kind of a stupid decision. The Eraser/policemen were all getting in their cars, preparing for the chase. That was when they discovered their slashed tires.

"Yes! Go team mutants!" Max cried, watching our pursuers get out and start inspecting their cars. I gritted my teeth and ignored him. I was busy trying to keep the car under the control.

"Max, sit down and shut up a minute." I said through my teeth. A bullet hit the back windshield, splintering the glass. Mollie screamed. I sped up, which I hadn't thought was possible.

I kept the car mostly under control for all twenty miles. To my surprise, we weren't pursued at all. I must have gotten more cars than I'd thought. I knew immediately when we'd reached the twenty mile limit, because the Flock was waiting for us on the side of the road.

I hit the brakes, and the car came to a squealing, screeching stop. I leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes and concentrating on my breathing. Mollie was out of the car in a second.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Max shouted. I made a noncommittal noise. My door opened and a familiar, anxious voice asked, "Alex?" I opened my eyes and looked at Fang.

"I'm okay." I said in a small voice. He nodded. I glanced at Max- Maxwell.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? That was amazing! Let's do it again!" I groaned.

We decided to keep the car. The Flock flew above us as we drove. Or, I guess I should say, tried to drive. I was still learning. Hey, I'm only fourteen! I don't even get my temps for another year and a half! All things considered, I think I was doing pretty well.

We'd found a road map in the glove box, and we'd mapped out most of our route out of California. I figured we'd have to stop in the next state over to get a new map.

Several times throughout the day I leaned forward and peered out the windshield. If I squinted my eyes, I could just barely make out six tiny black dots whirling through the sky above us. I wished I could be up there too.

We stopped for the night in a park about three miles across the California-Nevada border. The Flock made a little fire on the ground and cooked just about anything they had on a stick. Hot dogs, canned beans (which didn't work out so well), berries, marshmallows, cheese sticks, anything.

Maxwell, Mollie and I ate with them, then went back in the car to sleep while the Flock settled on tree branches. I locked the car doors, but I still felt a lot less safer than I would have high up in the tree.

I don't remember exactly what I dreamed, but I woke up in the early hours of the morning in a blind panic. I didn't fall asleep again for the rest of the night (or morning).

I was surprised by how far we got before we ran into trouble. We drove all day, through Utah, Colorado, and half of Kansas before the Erasers caught up. We were eating lunch at a picnic table in a rest stop, minding our own business. Maximum had used her amazing credit card to buy the Flock their usual ton of food. Maxwell, Mollie and I had finished our lone sandwiches a long time ago and were watching in amazement as the others plowed through sandwich after sandwich.

Suddenly, Angel looked around, frowning.

"Is anyone here thinking of ripping my throat out?" she asked timidly. We all froze for a second, then everyone sprang into action at once.

The Flock left the remainder of their food on the table and the younger kids immediately jumped into the air and hovered several feet up in the air. Maxwell, Mollie and I ran for the car with Maximum, Fang and Iggy waiting and fidgeting on the ground. Just as I opened my door, two things happened simultaneously.

First, someone by the picnic table shouted a warning. I barely heard it, because someone else had grabbed me by my hair and yanked my head back, hard enough to make me cry out. My eyes watered. Someone laughed in my ear, making my skin crawl. The voice was rough and hard.

"Surprise!" Ari growled.


	22. Me?

**Okey-dokey. so. chapter 20. drama, drama, drama. hope you like. as always, please review!**

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**Chapter 20; Me?**

Ari whirled me around by my hair and dropped me on the ground. My chin cracked against the asphalt, making me see momentary stars. Then someone was tying my hands together and yanking me roughly back to me feet. I looked around for the others.

Angel, Nudge and Gazzy were all in the air, hovering tauntingly just out of reach of the Erasers, who were jumping and snatching at their ankles. They had tranquilizer guns, but the kids just kept dodging whenever they fired. Maximum was locked in a furious battle with Ari, neither side gaining any ground, but they were both turning black and blue fast. Fang and Iggy were both fighting other Erasers on the ground.

As I watched, Iggy grabbed the front of one of the Erasers shirts, then rolled away fast, dodging under the picnic table. A second later, the Eraser and the ones on either side of him exploded, raining fuzzy Eraser bits down all around. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of burnt flesh and hair reached my nose.

The Eraser who had tied me up dragged me backward toward a semi truck. I dragged my heels in and thrashed around, but no go; I was stuffed unceremoniously into a dog crate in the back of the truck. Maxwell and Mollie were shoved into crates on either side of me. I was disappointed to see Iggy, Fang and Maximum stuffed in other cages a moment later. The younger kids were nowhere to be seen.

We didn't drive for very long, maybe twenty minutes. Then the truck stopped and the back doors were thrown open. They loaded our crates onto a cart and wheeled us into a big brick building. From the few quick glimpses I got of our surroundings, we seemed to be in some kind of heavily wooded area in the middle of nowhere. An electric fence ran around the building.

The inside of the building was a lot like how I remembered the School. Sterile white hallways, an antiseptic smell that stung my nose, men and women wearing white lab coats, and something else, something in the air that I couldn't quite identify.

They stopped outside one room, and the door slid open with a soft hiss. They took Maximum's crate off the cart and unlatched it, dumping her casually into the room. I caught a brief glimpse of the room before the door hissed shut again; small, white, a bed attached to the wall on one side. Then we were off again.

One by one, the others were all dropped off in similar rooms. Finally, it was my turn.

The door hissed open, my cage was swung off the cart, unlocked, and I fell, headfirst, into the tiny white room. The door shut again before I could right myself.

I sat up, glaring at the door and rubbing my head angrily. I got back to my feet slowly, inspecting the room.

It was even smaller than I'd realized. The white walls came together seamlessly in the corners. There were no air vents that I could see, and the air was freezing. I kicked the wall angrily, then sank down on the bed. It was bolted to the wall, with a white pillow and blankets. The whiteness of the room was sort of blinding.

Well, I might manage five more minutes of this before I started _tearing my hair out_ from the boredom.

I gritted my teeth and flopped back on my bed. After a few seconds, I started singing. I went through every song I knew, in the loudest, most obnoxious voice I could manage. I figured, what the hey. Maybe they had a camera or something in here, and maybe not. Still, at least it gave me something to do.

As it turned out, I didn't have to wait much longer for entertainment. Just as I finished my favorite song from Shrek (All Star by Smash Mouth), the door hissed open again. I sat up fast, turning to face my visitor. My eyebrows pulled together as Jeb entered the room. He came to stand in front of me, hands clasped together behind his back, regarding me wearily. I returned his gaze, with a healthy amount of hate thrown in.

"Hello again, Alex." he said. I remained silent. Jeb sighed.

"Alex, you and I need to talk." he said seriously. I raised my eyebrows, but still said nothing, opting for caution rather than scathing retorts. Jeb took a seat next to me on the bed. I moved to the floor on the opposite side of the room. He looked disappointed, but didn't comment on the new seating arrangements.

"Okay. Look. Alex, I don't know what Max has told you about herself, but-"

"Well, she's not really the sharing type." I interrupted conversationally. So much for caution. Jeb looked faintly annoyed by my interruption, but continued without comment.

"But she is going to save the world someday." he said. My eyebrows shot up again.

"No shit?" I said, impressed. Hey, why go for delicacy when you can just use sarcasm. Jeb's eyes narrowed. I held up my hands and pretended to lock my lips.

"You may not believe me, but it's true." he said. I raised my hand. I was starting to have fun with this. Jeb sighed, appearing resigned.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Who exactly is she supposed to save the world _from_?" I asked, trying to sound polite.

"I can't tell you that. Not even she knows yet." he said.

"Then how is she supposed to save it?" I asked, puzzled. Jeb looked really fed up now, even going a bit pink in the face. Good.

"I can't tell you! Max has to figure it out on her own!" he said. I held up my hands again.

"OK, fair enough." I said, even though it wasn't. Jeb took a deep, steadying breath.

"Some of my… _superiors_," he said the word with great distaste, "Think that Max might not be… up to the job." he said reluctantly. I nodded.

"Which is where you come in." he said. I frowned. Me?

"Um… question." I said, raising my hand again. Jeb nodded.

"Uh, _me?_" I said, with my usual amount of delicacy and tact. Jeb inclined his head. "I don't get it."

"If, for some reason, Max should fail, you are… her replacement." I gaped at him.

"Her _replacement?_" I said. "Are you _serious?_" I demanded. I thought of Maximum, or what little I knew of her. She was strong, determined, and, most importantly, genetically enhanced. I held up a mental picture of myself. Not a exactly a thrilling comparison.

"Alex, right now, you know very little about who you really are. This isn't entirely your fault; You don't yet have all the knowledge or skills you need to fully understand a lot of the things that have happened, or are going to happen, to you. In time, you will understand. We can fill most of the gaps in your knowledge, and your memory. But you have to help us." he said. I shook my head.

"Wait. Gaps in my _memory_? What gaps? What are you talking about?" The rest of his words caught up with my brain then. "_Help_ you? Okay, you really are crazy." I shook my head.

"Why the hell would I help _you_, of all people?" I demanded. I was starting to work up some serious steam, but before I could really get going, Jeb cut me off.

"Our childhood memories are not always correct, Alex. There are things in you childhood that you don't remember correctly, or that you were simply never told about." he said. "And, yes, you do need to cooperate with us. I think we can be very useful to each other. Even if Max saves the world, you could still be very influential." Jeb said calmly. I shook my head slowly, numbly.

"Look. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I know this; I won't help you. You've kidnapped me twice, put me through all kinds of hell back at the School, and, on top of everything else, you're _evil_. Not only is it physically impossible for me to save the world, _I don't want to_! I want to go home, go back to school, grow up, have a_ normal life_." I jumped to my feet.

"I don't know what you mean about my childhood, but I'm sure you're lying anyways. So either let me go, or _GET OUT_!" I shouted. Jeb got to his feet slowly, calmly. My shoulders rose and fell angrily, my heart beat faster, sped by the pure fury pumping through my veins. Jeb looked me in the eyes. I was almost surprised he didn't turn to ash on the spot.

"You have no idea what you're saying." he said in a voice of deadly calm. "But I'm not surprised. I know things about you that that you have never even heard mentioned. Things about your brother, for instance." I frowned.

"Max? What about him?" I asked, wary. Jeb smiled thinly.

"Not your younger brother, Alex. Your twin brother." he said. I shook my head, eyeing Jeb warily.

"I don't have a twin brother." I said in a voice barely above a whisper. Jeb smirked.

"He _supposedly_ died at birth." Jeb said, turning away. It took me a minute to find my voice again.

"Who…" I started to ask uncertainly. Jeb had already crossed to the door. He paused with one hand raised to touch it.

"You've already met him." he said calmly. "Fang."

The door slid open at Jeb's touch, and he left the room, leaving me in an almost indescribable state of shock.


End file.
